What You Did In The Dark
by harleytje
Summary: Harper originally moved to Los Santos for a new start. Instead she ended up homeless and wanted by the police. Desperate to escape from the city she ends up in the hands of groups of criminals who want to use her for their own purposes.


The sound of rain and gunshots was what woke me.

Rubbing my eyes I sat up, looking around and straining to hear where the shots were coming from. If they were nearby I'd need to find somewhere to hide or end up with a bullet in my head but if they were far off then I could go back to sleep. After a long moment of just the dripping of rain on tarp there was another series of pops and the sound of a siren coming to life. Close enough that I could hear screaming and shouting, which meant it was close enough for whatever fool was rampaging to see me as their next victim.

Groaning under my breath I stretched in an attempt to ease the pain out of my aching muscles. It didn't do a whole lot but it took the edge off the sharp pain in my shoulders. Crawling out from the cardboard box I called home, I blinked in the weak sunlight that filtered to underneath the freeway. I didn't have a watch but I guessed it to be still early morning, not the normal time for homicidal urges but Los Santos was full of surprises. That much I had learned the hard way.

Knocking on the metal shipping container my box was on, I stifled a yawn and grabbed my rucksack with my other hand. From underneath came another two knocks- Jeanie was awake.

I fondly referred to Jeanie as my roommate, a nickname that always made her cackle. She slept inside the shipping container with her boyfriend Phil while I had set up camp on top. It made me feel safer being up high and Jeanie said I reminded her of her son. Except I was female and not a lawyer in another city. But still. Jeanie was in her early fifties and nearly always high on meth but she looked out for me and I tried to do the same for her. When trouble was brewing nearby we nearly always stuck together.

Jumping down to the entrance I peered in to see how she was. She grinned up from where she was sprawled on the floor, a tangle of blankets underneath her and Phil passed out beside her. There were dark circles under her eyes and an old bruise fading across her jaw from a fight with a security guard. She looked like she needed a months holiday somewhere nice, not to be stuck in this hell hole. But then again, we were all stuck in the same boat.

"You coming?"

She shook her head and yawned, showing off the gaps and fillings in her teeth. "Nah. We ain't in the mood for runnin' around and gettin' abuse shouted at us by them folks from Vinewood. Let the cops deal with whatever psycho's going off today. They ain't gonna come here. Even lunatics and murders don't wanna associate with a bunch o' bums."

I shrugged, knowing better than arguing with Jeanie when she had made her mind up. She was probably right after all, I was just too paranoid and twitchy to stay in one place too long. Phil said it was from all the weed I'd smoked over the years but he normally said that just so I'd offer him some of my joint.

"I'll catch you later then Jeanie. Stay out of trouble," I was pretty serious but she cackled with laughter as I left, slinging my rucksack over my shoulder as I went.

Stepping out of the shelter of the underpass the rain hit me full force and I shivered, pulling up my hood and wishing I had a proper warm outfit instead of an old worn hoodie, ripped jeans and shoes that were held together with tape. I'd seen a lot of the hipsters in similar outfits in Rockford Hills but the difference was they paid for their clothes to look worn and ripped while mine were tattered from months of wearing the same thing. Plus, the hipsters smelled of coffee and perfume while I smelled like smoke and stale sweat.

Without deciding where exactly I was heading I walked on, figuring I would just walk in the opposite direction of the gunshots and hope for the best. The puddles were already soaking through my shoes and the wind blew the rain into my face and pushed my hood off so my hair was getting soaked too. It wasn't exactly the weather they advertised on the postcards. This was a very different Los Santos than the sunny beaches and shiny buildings that the tourists wanted to see.

Shoving my hands deep into my pockets I glanced around, trying to find somewhere I could go. I had maybe two dollars on me which wasn't enough to go to a bar, but I could at least stop in at a store and grab a snack and a can of juice. I hesitated outside the front door of the nearest convenience store for a second then tutted and kept walking. The people there recognised my face too easily from shoplifting things and they'd probably call the cops on me before I got a chance to buy anything.

Kicking at the ground I headed for the nearest underground train station. I could get out the rain there and no doubt there would be vending machines I could get a drink from. It wasn't far of a walk and it was quiet inside. Someone had been stabbed on the train recently which had put a lot of people off. That was better for me though, since it was so quiet I couldn't see anyone attending the ticket booth- making it easier to jump the barrier and head downstairs without a ticket.

Down by the train tracks it was cold and still breezy but at least there was no rain. I pulled my rucksack off and bunched it up to use as a pillow as I stretched out along one of the metal benches. There was no rush to go anywhere yet, I could rest for a while somewhere safe and then maybe after a little bit I could get on a train and take a free tour of the city. The train would be warm and the seats were at least semi-comfortable. I could even pretend I was a normal person for a while, instead of a freak like everyone thought I was.

I must have managed to drift back to sleep because all of a sudden someone was nudging my head and I bolted upright, shocked out of my sleep. A train conductor frowned down at me as I rubbed my eyes and gave an apologetic smile.

"You can't sleep here. You're gonna have to move along," his voice was brusque, he obviously wasn't the type I could convince to let me stay so I just shrugged again and grabbed my bag, half-running up the stairs before he could threaten me with the cops.

Judging my the way my body was stiff in a totally different way from earlier, I must have slept longer than I realized and when I stepped outside the rain was still pouring down but the sun was higher in the sky, only just peering out from behind the thick grey clouds blanketing the sky. There was no more sounds of guns or sirens at least, and I trudged back to the shithole I called home, muttering curse words under my breath as I did so.

It took me too long to notice the flashing lights and the tape, but when I did it felt like my stomach dropped out of me and my heart leaped up to my throat.

There was several police cars and a riot van parked at our little underpass area, the whole section taped off like a crime scene. As I stood in shock an ambulance pulled up and that was when I noticed the bodies. They were covered with sheets and had stoic looking cops guarding them and the sight of them made my knees buckle.

" _ **Harper**_!"

My head snapped up at the sound of my name and I spotted Jeanie wriggling in the grip of two officers guiding her over to one of the cars. She was cuffed and had a new bruise on her forehead but she was alive and some of the tightness in my chest relaxed. She looked wild in the grip of the cops though. She probably hadn't done anything wrong, but it was easier to arrest the homeless rather than help them.

"They got Phil, Harper!" Her voice cracked as she yelled, several other people watching the exchange with puzzled looks. The tightness returned to my chest and I felt sick. "They shot him 'cause he looked outside to see what was goin' on and-"

The rest of her sentence was lost as she was shoved in the back seat of the police car. I fought back the urge to dry heave, my whole body trembling and shaking. I didn't know whether Jeanie meant the cops shot him or the idiot running around with a gun did, but it didn't matter. Funny, laughing, sweet Phil was dead. And the only people that cared was me and Jeanie- two drug addled homeless women.

I noticed the two policemen who had locked Jeanie in the car were walking towards me- whether to question me or just arrest me for being associated with criminals I didn't know. Either way I didn't want them near me and I knew what Jeanie would have told me to do. I could see her mouthing it as she banged on the car window.

I turned tail and ran.


End file.
